What to Know Today
NEW from THE TRACE: The federal government’s plan to fund crisis intervention is leaving some state lawmakers conflicted. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which President Joe Biden signed in June, will send up to $750 million to states to implement or improve a range of crisis intervention programs. The act’s designers initially hoped to restrict the funding only to states investing in red flag systems, which remove guns temporarily from people who may be a danger to themselves or others. But a compromise in Congress broadened the kinds of programs eligible for funding, leaving some state lawmakers struggling to decide what to do with the money.
UPDATE: Tracking the ripple effect of the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. We’ve added several updates to our running list of lawsuits and law changes spurred by Bruen. This most recent slate includes court cases in Hawaii, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Read them all here.
About that challenge to Connecticut’s post-Sandy Hook laws… In Tuesday’s newsletter, we told you about the National Association of Gun Rights’ lawsuit over a state ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. It now turns out that the person who originally brought the suit has dropped out, saying she isn’t a gun owner and had been recruited by the gun rights group because it needed a local resident to give it standing to sue. State Attorney General William Tong accused the group of “manufactur[ing] a lawsuit.” NAGR swiftly refiled an amended complaint, replacing the original plaintiff with a Connecticut-based NAGR member, who also doesn’t own guns.
Report: Guns are fueling rising extremism. A new fact sheet from the left-leaning Center for American Progress examines the link between guns and extremist ideology — and offers solutions to address it. “Violent extremism is on the rise across the United States and firearms play a major role,” the document, which you can read in full here, reads. ICYMI: Earlier this month, The Trace’s Jennifer Mascia spoke with Mark Pitcavage, senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, on this very topic. Read what she learned in conversation with him here.
Confusion lingers about concealed carry in New York. On September 1, the state instituted new requirements for obtaining a gun permit. The regulations require 16 hours of in-person training, two of which must be live-fire. But some trainers tasked with administering the class say they need guidance from the state on what exactly to teach, particularly around suicide prevention and conflict management. “As an instructor in firearms, I’m not really qualified to give suicide prevention courses,” said one.
How can businesses help reduce gun violence? That’s the question at the heart of a new column by Michael Dowling, president of Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare network, and Chethan Sathya, who runs Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention. They detail how Northwell has invested in gun violence research and prevention in the long term, and offer advice for other businesses looking to do the same. “Every private and public sector organization has a part to play in curbing this epidemic,” they write.
Data Point
10,000 — the number of people who are victims of hate crimes involving firearms each year. [Center for American Progress]
